Ready To Roof

This makes the second or third construction weekend in a row with temperatures in the 90's. We even weathered a 4-5 hour thunderstorm overnight.

The first night (Thursday) we managed to get the 2 front wall sections built and ready to install. Then we made camp and turned in.

The next morning we installed the front wall and proceeded to lay on the sheet. We sheeted all the way around the cabin leaving only a very small section under the front wall window which will come from a piece also cut for the roof.




Finally, We capped off the day with the final top plate and porch posts. At last, we are ready to put the roof on!

Three Walls And A Floor

This week we managed to get the floor down. It was great to sit on the new porch for the first time. We also got three of the four wall frames up. Short text this time. More later.

Platform Base Is Complete

This weekend was a big one! We came up on Sunday afternoon after dealing with some minor car trouble that Dad had right after church. We had to stop at 2 different Menards stores to get the stuff we needed and settled mostly on getting the remaining cement we needed to finish off the pilings (Dad decided that we should cement them in even though the ground seems plenty rocky enough) and a picnic table with 4 chairs and an umbrella that I gave him for Father's day. On Sunday afternoon we fished, put up the table, mixed and poured all of the cement and hung the solid panels for the gazebo that Debbie gave us so we wouldn't get too wet when it rains (which, of course, it did!).

On Monday we began with the platform and by Noon had the sections directly under the cabin completed. After lunch we got right back on it and built the remaining porch sections completing the platform all in one day by 4:30pm! I personnaly think that for 2 guys, who normally do not do this kind of work, using 2x8 green-treated wood and doubling up on the cross-sections, that's a pretty decent feat. We did a little more dirt scratching and weed cutting this weekend. We also went for a short swim in the lake that the dam at Willow River forms, and caught some baby fish there (again, nothing big enough to eat). That night, I heard a bear in the distance. Dad suggested that it might have been a moose, but as it happens, I caught a wildlife show on Tuesday which featured bears and it was clearly those noises that I heard.

Next week, we intend to purchase all of our remaining framing supplies and bring them up. Also, it is our plan to lay the base floor and erect the walls then, as well.

Putting in the Pilings

We put in the Pilings this weekend. It was a goodly bit of work, but it went well and there were little or no interruptions. We saw some herons mixing with some cows in a local farmer's field. We also caught a couple of fish, but not sizable enough to keep. We decided to use the Gazebo as our impromptu tent until the cabin is built. We weathered a late-Spring thunderstorm overnight by moving our cots into the center and keeping an eye on the grommet holes in the nylon top. By morning, the storm had passed and we were ready for breakfast at our favorite restaurant in Sandstone.
This week, it's mostly about the pictures. The first one shows the pilings in various stages of development while the second one shows the completed work (at least for this week). Take note that we also managed to get all 10 trees that were directly surrounding the cabin site cut down, so we are currently looking for volunteers who like to use chansaws to help cut them up into stacked logs for firewood.

Gazebo

Dad and Ma bought a gazebo for up at camp so we could both have a nice place to relax from the mosquitos and have a comfortable sleeping area other than a low-to-the-ground, leaky, dome tent. Deb says she has solid panels for 3 sides of the gazebo which we will get from her and put on later. I want to also mention that Katherine's Husband Scott and son Bryan wanted to take a look at the campsite so Dad took them up to have a look.
This would be about a week or so ago. Not only did they get a look, but they got a huge surprise in that they found that bigger equipment had been brought in and the road had been worked on so much that it was drivable all the way back to the far back properties. They also decided to help us out with the cabin and so they dug all of the holes for the foundation pillars that we will use for our cabin! And believe me, that is no mean feat! This ground is as hard and rocky as you might expect from land used to quarry sandstone blocks.

Thank you so very much boys!

So, since we had a nice gazebo to put up, we decided to get some nice floor stone patio tiles to put it up on. There were 64 of them each weighing in at around 42 pounds each. We also picked up 27 cement blocks for the cabin foundation piers and a few bags of quick-crete to solidify them into the ground. Once we had all of this stuff sitting on our trailer, we realized there would be no way we would be able to take all of this stuff up to camp at once. There were over 3600 lbs of material on the trailer! We managed to get across the parking lot and into the next one and made the decision to go and get the pickup to carry half of the load. So, Dad and Ma went for the pickup and I stayed behind to watch the load until they returned. Then we transferred half the load to the truck and the next day took both vehicles up north.

We had Mom, Janelle and myself in the wagon pulling the trailer and Dad and Ma following in the pickup. After a nice breakfast at Pam's Place in Sandstone, we went back to camp and found that the road had been worked on even more since the last time. We had no trouble just driving right on into camp with our loads and taking them all the way back to the campsite (Yeah! No more parking at the top of the road and hiking back).

Dad and I attached the plow to the tractor and he proceeded to scrape a nice area in front of our growing cabin materials pile. Then we raked and laid out the square tiles for the patio. Finally, we unloaded the remaining materials from the trailer and pickup and began putting up the gazebo. Voila! In just 3 hours we had scraped and leveled the area to build on, unloaded all of our material, laid out our patio and erected our gazebo!

Later on, Mom and I went further north to Virginia, MN to the Craft Festival they had there and Dad, Ma and Janelle went back home. We decided to leave the trailer up north and retrieve it on our next trip.

A Day of Surprises

Oftentimes when coming up north, as we are driving down Ed's road and approaching the lane that will take us back to camp, we find ourselves thinking wistfully, "wouldn't it be nice if, by some amazing miracle--or shoe-maker elves, we should find the driveway magically repaired". Well I'm here to tell you folks that dreams and wishes can come true! For on this day, as we arrived we found that a bulldozer had been used to plow the road, two cars wide, all the way back to the very end of the lane.
It looks as though either a developer has been brought in to build some cabins in the back, or the folks who have property back there have decided to expand or maybe even build a resort. There is much dozer work completed back there in patterns that suggest multiple cabin placements are imminent. If that is, in fact the case, they will require a decent road for access which means that the ruts will likely be filled in this Spring or early Summer by professionals (or at least those with the equipment and know-how to do so) and we won't have to do it ourselves.

This was, as you might imagine a very exciting find for us, since up to now, we were in the belief that we were alone in the desire to fix the lane and make it passable for normal cars so we wouldn't have to keep parking half a mile away and hiking back into our campsite.

We put in about 4-5 miles of hiking today, going all the way back to the Eagle Bluff area and snapping some photos and then coming back and hiking down to the meadow to do some scouting around there. An eagle flew directly overhead the campsite again, so I am convinced that its eyrie is very close by. No campfire today as it was in the mid fifties but we did get some target practice in. We put the new adjuster bar on the tractor and ran the tractor up and down the lane a bit.

After a day of hiking, shooting and filming we decided to see if the Munger Bicycle Trail is paved all the way out to Duluth. And wouldn't you know it, I made a wrong turn and we lost the trail. But it was such a nice day we just kept on driving and eventually ended up on highway 23 heading north. There, we found ourselves again surprised as we came across the old Lake Duluth Reservoir region which is now known as the St. Louis River Valley. There was an overlook there that offered an amazing view over the valley (see collage). After taking some photos there we continued north along 23. At the point where the road crosses over the river and just after entering the outskirts of Duluth, we turned left and followed the river road up, down and back up the mountains of Jay Cooke State Park and shot photos of the St Louis River rapids and falls. We saw much deer in this area (and nearly hit a couple) and the views were spectacular!

Eventually, we did come back across the (yes!) paved Munger Trail running along highway 210 out of Carlton. We followed it back, for the most part into Moose Lake and found where I'd made my initial error in direction. Then it was, fill up the coffee mugs, and head back home. All-in-all a long, yet surprisingly satisfying day.

Winter in the Hollow

There's nothing like the peace of a bright winter morning in the woods. Making the first human tracks in the snow, listening to the stillness in the air disturbed only by the few snow-birds that hang around all winter long. If a deer moves in the woods, you can hear it. If a rabbit squeaks, you know. The air is so still and the countryside so quiet you can hear the dogs barking a mile away.

Nothing special to report today. Dad and I just got out for a little quiet time and to make sure that the campsite remains undisturbed by other humans. We also got a little shooting practice in--which really sounds deafening on such a quiet day. We basically just hung around, drove the tractor up and down the lane and simply relaxed. It was good to get away.

Happy Holidays!

Well, Christmas 2005 is nearly upon us and I want to wish everyone the merriest one possible! I made my own Christmas cards this year for the very first time. I like the way they came out so well, that I will doubtless do it that way from now on. I used the camp as my inspiration and just to show that one man's ugly is another's beauty, I featured the big red spruce on the corner of the main campsite clearing. Dad and Rob (among others) gave me quite the hard time about wanting to keep my "ugly" old pine tree, but I saw much more to it. What do you think?
I apologize that the posts here have been kind of sparse, but that became a necessity once I realized that while Dad and I (or someone and I) have been up to camp many times in the past 2 years (2 years! can you believe it???), and while we have always tried to do some improvement on the place each time, quite often very little changed from one visit to the next. if fact, it's not until you look back at the early pictures, that you can get the sense of all of the changes that have occured. That shows the gradularity of the work we have done thus far.

However, that is about to change in a very dramatic way. In the past month or so (Around Thansgiving) we purchased a 5' x 10', 2000 lb capacity flatbed trailer with a ramp gate (for ATVs) . With this we bought and hauled all of the green-treated lumber we will need to build the base of our first cabin. Also, over the Summer, my neighbor across the street purchased new windows for her house and gave us (no charge) a combination Picture window with sliding side-lites and a regular casement style window. Furthermore, Dad purchased a pretty decent air compressor, and I bought a 3500 watt gas-powered generator and a 6-way extendable air hammer gun. All of these materials and tools have been taken up north. We have also chosen the site for the first cabin (pretty much right about where the tarp and tent sit in the previous post--except a little further into the corner).

I have to pick up a few more things such as blocks and flooring/decking and we can begin building the base. Once it is up we can take our time and put up the walls and roof. I still have about $2000 remaining for this last bit of material, but it should be plenty enough. We already have a kerosene heater so once the cabin is up we can begin using the property as we like. The road and the well will be our next projects, and then probably another cabin. I also want to cut and clear some trails in the woods to make movement more easily managed. But these are all future projects. First, the cabin.

This will likely be the last 2005 post so I want to wish everyone a warm and happy holiday season. See you next year!

Cabin Materials

Last week we purchased a trailer and a plow for the tractor. We also bought and hauled up enough pressure- treated 2x8's to build a 16' x 18' platform. This will be the base for a small cabin (12' x 16') which will be built over on site 2.

I am still holding out hope that I will be able to pull together the funds (or at least arrange the financing) to purchase one of those heirloom or vintage log cabins that Cabin and Timber are selling for the main site. Cabin and Timber is a company that collects and restores old log and timber frame structures and resells them. It's a unique way of recycling old material so that less new trees need to be cut and the old timbers don't go to waste on someone's fire.

This week, we got lucky in that my neighbor across the street was installing new windows and graciously permitted us to take her old ones. So we hauled them up as well. We found that the plow blade doesn't quite fit so we have to buy some longer pins or at least spacers for the existing pins to push them out further. We also need a longer top-rod and at least one new adjuster bar for canting the blade. Eventually, we will get an adjustment bar on both sides, but for now we only really need the right one.

There is an eagle eyrie very near by us as we saw one flying just overhead the camp. I managed to get some pictures, by the eagle was up very high and the pictures do not do it justice. All-in-all we have had a pretty dry winter here so far and this late in the season, when we should have snow on the ground, we find the ground bare. No need to complain too hard though as the temperatures are mild enough to make us not mind the missing snow.

2005 Get-Together

Rob and Vicki came out to visit and we all got up to the camp together. Rob was so excited he wouldn't let anyone else do any chainsaw cutting! Recently, we had begun using a tarp and pole lean-to construction to cover the Picnic table and/or tent area. We set that up and built a nice fire in the firepit. Rob set to cutting down and clearing out the area where Dad and I want to set up the first cabin. He did such a good job, I only had a little bit left to finish up.

The picture above _{(click on it to see it full-size)} is a composite of 2 camera shots showing the main campsite from between the tractor and my Explorer with the outhouse and shooting range behind me. The inset image is that of the outhouse.

Dad, Rob and I went hiking all over the grounds just to give Rob an idea of the size and shape of the land. I think he was well pleased. There are plenty of places for setting up cabins, for hiking and for hunting. Not to mention that we are only about a little over 1000 ft from the Kettle River. We also went down there to show Rob just how close it is. The water level was incredibly low then, but it was still quite picturesque. All in all, it was a great time.

First Multi-Nighter

Dad and I had the first multi-night campout this past week. I had Wednesday through Friday off so we packed up and headed north for a couple nights to see how we liked it and to pick up our tractor and see just how much work we could get done in 2-3 days.

We got the tractor alright (see picture inset), a 1952 J I CASE DC with 37 hp, 2WD, LH, LPTO and an eagle hitch. It is an antique, but runs pretty well. We may have to do some work on it as the carburator leaks a little and the oil is slightly sludgy (possible blown head gasket), also the lighting is not wired properly. We did get a new carb kit with the deal and an oil change, but if it is a head gasket, then we will have to get that changed before we do a whole lot of work with the tractor. It's in such good shape I'd hate to do anything that could cause it permanent damage.

The guy was offering it for $1500, but Dad not only talked him into giving us a fresh oil change, but also the new carb kit thrown in and delivered to our site, for $1300! So if it needs a little work, that's no bother since we ended up getting it for such a great deal.

Already, with the number of passes we've made on the tractor going up and down the lane, even without attachments, just using the front wheels as cutters and the rear wheels as packers, we've made such an improvement to the lane that we could very likely bring my car back there again as most of the deepest ruts have been flattened out some. The ruts were really the only reason my car had any trouble because the 4 wheel drive handles the mud just fine. But the ruts were so deep in some spots, it left my wagon hung up on its belly with wheels spinning.

We also took the opportunity to begin clearing out the secondary cabin site and have most if not all of the trees cut, stripped and de-brushed. This site is not quite ready for use as a campsite yet, but maybe another working weekend will bring it around. I don't have any pictures of it finished but will likely have something on the next post. Meanwhile, here is a panoramic composite picture of the main site from the end of the driveway _{(click on it to enlarge)}.

Property Site Map

I have decided to do a pictorial history of our experiences at Woodpecker Hollow from the first time we ever laid eyes on it. I will try to post it so that it follows the proper dating of the posts, but failing that will at least create the diary and provide a link to it from here. Also, I am going to open up (as much as the host service will permit) the blog to others so that all who use our land may be able to share and express their experiences here.

The picture inserted here (click on the image to see it full size) is a site map of the property showing the trails and creeks and other features. This map will be updated soon since over the past year and a half, many changes have already occured.

The Name

Woodpecker Hollow is the name I have finally decided on for the property up north. For some time now, we have affectionately been refering to the property as "the camp" or "the land" or even simply "up north". However Dad informed me that a proper "camp" has to have a proper name and so, with considerable discussion on the subject and much advice from everyone I have been trying to come up with one.

There are many things prevalent in the woods up north, not the least of which are flickers and woodpeckers. In fact, just south of the property the Audabon society has land set aside for the birds of the northwoods. There are eagles and owls, cardinals and jays, finches and flickers and yes, woodpeckers as well as many other varietis of feathered beasts living in the area. There is even a land feature named Woodpecker Ridge not far from this site.

Considering how many flickers and woodpeckers we see everytime we go up north, and the fact that our property is located on the side of a gradual descent to the Kettle river bottoms, I chose Woodpecker Hollow as the name for the camp.

Raptors

Its a new year and the great birds are already out. Majestic in their beauty, they soar over the woods and the meadows in the Northland like patrolmen walking the beat. Today, we got up close to a Great Owl _{(left image, click to enlarge)} freshly arrived from the Canadian wilderness to nest. Come Spring, it will be gone back North in search of wilder territory and more plentiful prey.

We also caught sight of one of our other great raptors, the American Bald Eagle _{(right image, click to enlarge)}. It soared over the meadow for quite awhile hunting for critters to gnosh on, I suppose.

As white as it was, and for all it being only February, it wasn't really very cold.

One Year Anniversary

What a difference a year makes! See how beautiful it is here.

Last year at this time, the land looked brown and deadfall was everywhere. We were just recovering from one of the longest dry spells we had had in recent memory and it showed.

This year, we had an over-abundance of moisture -- to the extent that the driveway was impassible most of the year! Also, the warmer weather stood longer this year from last.

We took the time to revisit the bluff down at the end of our driveway about a half-mile back that overlooks a bend in the river which has an 18 inch drop over stony rapids. There is a cute little island in the middle of the bend and a couple of caves undercutting the banks along the river. We were buzzed by several Eagles nesting and feeding in the area, thus prompting us to name it Eagle Bluff. It really is quite gorgeous around here!

Sandstone Quarry

Dad and I took a trip into Sandstone today to get a glimpse of the quarry. It is no longer used as a source for the unique pink sandstone blocks that come from this region mostly because the businesses that owned and operated the quarry folded up long ago. Now it is a very nice picnic park situated at the base of some mild rapids and just up-river from the Hell's Gate section of the Kettle rivere where the Blueberry slide and Dragon's Tooth and other colorfully named water hazards can be found. Here is a brief slideshow of the park.

The creek was full and in some spots overflowing today and the pond on the meadow is very high. Everything is so green and overgrown we have to practically wade through the weeds and ground cover just to get anywhere. We plan to bring up the mower next time and get the grass cut and do some further clearing on the site later this month.

I took some photos down by the water's edge of the Kettle just below our camp using the binocular today, but they don't turn out real well without alot of touch-up work. I caught a great one of Dad doing a little fishing while sitting on a hummock over-looking the river. I also did a "green" shot of the view down-river. This is a touched-up image that highlights the green-ness that we found this trip.

Spring Camping in the Northwoods

Is there anything as satisfying as a warm fire on a cool Spring morning just hangin' out with your brother in the Northwoods? This was our very first Spring camp out and man was it ever uplifting!

The quiet of the woods...The damp chill in the air...The Trilliums bursting forth like newborn babies. The creek was running and gurgling down to the pond in the meadow and the wildlife was everywhere.

Dan and I hiked all over the land on this trip and explored alot of the same areas that Dad and I had discovered. We even found a couple of deer-stands that Dad and I missed previously. There was abundant evidence of wild berries growing up there as well.

Aside from getting a bit wet when the tent failed us, it was an altogether satisfying trip.

Picnic Table

Began building our first picnic table today (see picture inset). Got it nearly finished too. Just need to get a couple of planks for the seats. We've done this winter camping a few times now (just day trips) and are thinking about our first over-night. I can't wait!

After our day trips this past winter, we've been trying out the various restaurants in the area to see if we can come up with a few favorites. Today, we decided to go in to Moose Lake which is located about 20 miles north of camp. There is a restaurant there called the Blue Bear which Dad keeps mis-pronouncing as Blue Beer. Guess I'm not gonna let him live that one down anytime soon! Ha ha! Anyway, here is a picture of its interior.

Eureka! The Property Is Ours

As of the afternoon of January 5th, 2004 the land is ours! Mom came up north with me while I did the paperwork so she could get her first look at the property. Hopefully soon, we will have a cabin so we can all come up and enjoy it together.

On January 17th, Dad and I came back up and made our first improvements to the campsite. We cut down some extra trees that were blocking the view of the driveway a bit and it allowed us to first open up the main camp area and second create a store of cut wood for the firepit. See the picture at the left.

We also created the first firepit on the property. One rule we are going to enforce is that no fires occur on the porperty without some sort of encloure. The timber is often very dry in this area and a fire would be enormously disastrous. However, a little simple forethought and common sense will allow us to be safe while still having a great time.

Additionally, we got a chance to get down to the river for a nice shot of that on a clear blue Minnesota January morning (see picture at the right). It really is so very peaceful here. I'm so glad we chose this spot.

First View of the Property

The first time I saw the property, I was completely convinced that it was not what I was looking for. I really wanted direct waterfront or at the very least, water view. I also wanted something a little further north, say along the North Shore of Lake Superior somewhere. Dad, however fell in love with the property almost immediatley and eventually convinced me to take a second look.

This time we hiked over much of the acreage and took pictures of the land and some of the nearby features, such as the Kettle River. After that, I was pretty much hooked and began the process of trying to get the financing in order. Attached here is a JPG file that contains the photos from that day's adventure.